Dr. No versus the field: Licence to Kill

As I'm sure most of you are aware, we recently finished "Spectre vs. the field," where the most recent Bond was matched up against the previous 23, category by category. It encountered mixed results, but a good time was had by all (except perhaps for a few slapfights in the Moore years). Someone, I'm not sure who, suggested that we turn things around and match Dr. No up against the field. It seemed as good an idea as any, so we shall begin with Dr. No against the second Bond ever, From Russia With Love.

The PTS category has been removed from this game, on account of Dr. No not having a pre-title sequence.

Had a bit of a brain fart on the PTS category. I'm accustomed to leaving it in for DN, since it's just one match, but then I remembered that in fact DN will be in all these contests. Will edit the initial post.

Title Track: FRWL (Because it incorporates the Bond theme AND that killer opening sting)

Title Credits: FRWL (Both iconic but that belly dancing projection coupled with the music and shimmering gold is mesmerizing.)

Main Villain: DN (I love the villains in FRWL but they're split across Blofeld, Klebb and Kronsteen - and the way they build up Dr No is brilliant.)

Main Bond Girl: FRWL (Two of my favourites - but I like Bianchi's playful chemistry with Connery, she is an important element to the plot and although she spends a disturbing amount of time unconscious she makes up for it with her killing of Klebb. She also has bonus points for being involved in a memorable scene that doesn't involve 007 - her first meeting with Klebb. Honey starts off so good - but everything from being captured in the swamp onwards means she is not only basically silent but also fairly useless.)

Henchman: FRWL (Red Grant = best henchman in the series)

Overall Plot: FRWL (My favourite plot in the series. Something I love about the novel too. The way it unfolds is expertly handled. Proper cold war espionage style.)

Dialogue: FRWL (So much wonderful dialogue between all the characters - Especially Bond with Grant, Kerim and Tatiana.)

Score: FRWL Barry is on great form here - Spectre Island, Bond is Back and of course the 007 theme.

Benign Bizarre: DN (both are wonderfully bizarre - but DN takes it this time - the 'dragon', the room where Dent gets the spider, DN checking out Bond and Honey as they sleep, plus the sisters lily and rose in the mink lined prison. It's all very strange.)

Suspense: FRWL Both are so strong on suspense. It's an element that endears me to both of these films - the mystery and suspense across the narrative in both of them makes them endlessly rewatchable.

Minor Characters: FRWL - (Two of the greatest allies in the series - Quarrel and Kerim Bey but Kerim Bey is my favourite ally of the entire series. Marvellous! Marvellous...)

Glamour: FRWL The casino in DN informed all my initial ideas of glamour as a kid. But FRWL has an exotic and intoxicating glamour of travel, mystery, style. It's captivating.

Bond Performance: DN Both are impossibly good performances. I'll give it to DN for setting the bar.

FRWL = 12
DN = 5

Two of my favourite films of all time - FRWL is my favourite though, nearly every category is close - DN would be around my sixth favourite Bond film so there is no shame in dropping that many rounds against the absolute pinnacle of the series for me. Both DN and FRWL are wonderful, charming, captivating films.

Title Track: FRWL - Those first few notes get me so pumped every time.
Title Credits: FRWL - Genius with the credits over the dancing girls. Binder will always be a legend, but Brownjohn really took a huge leap from DN. The credits still seem as clear and vivid as something you would see today.
Main Villain: FRWL - Klebb is brilliant and I've always found Dr. No a little overrated.
Main Bond Girl: FRWL - Tatiana is a more fleshed out character and has a nice little arc, as oppose to Honey who just kind of appears 2/3 through the film.
Henchman: FRWL - Red Grant is top 3, Dent doesn't crack my top 10.
Overall Plot: FRWL - The best of Fleming's plots and it's used fantastically
Dialogue: DN - By a small margin
Score: FRWL - Tough one... I love 'Jump Up' for DN and 007 Theme for FRWL; however, there are some really 50s sounding cues (smashing of spider, the end with Leiter appearing on boat)
Settings: DN - Jamaica really sets the tone for the whole series and it's tradition of showing exotic locations
Action: FRWL
Humour: FRWL - Kerim Bey helps put FRWL ahead
Cinematography: FRWL - Ted Moore takes what he did in DN and improves on it here in FRWL
Benign Bizarre: DN - Dragons!
Suspense: DN - The tense stakeout scene ad Miss Taro's, playing solitaire while waiting for Dent is just fantastic.
Minor Characters: FRWL - Armendariz alone is enough
Glamour: DN - First scene nails it.
Bond Performance: DN - Both very similar, but I'll give slight nod to DN

11-6 FRWL. Probably a bit closer in my rankings (FRWL is 5 and DN is in the 9-10 range), but by the categories, there is more separation.

Question for SotS: Should we be using the James Bond theme or Three Blind Mice for title track? I went with Three Blind Mice, because it seems like James Bond theme isn't really fair. That being said, if it's JB theme, then most people are going to give it a 23-0 victory and if it's TBM it's likely to take a 0-23 beating. There are some themes I would choose over JB theme, but I'm guessing I'm in the minority there.

Just wanted to get clarification from game host so I know how to vote. Thanks as always @Soundofthesinners !

Question for SotS: Should we be using the James Bond theme or Three Blind Mice for title track? I went with Three Blind Mice, because it seems like James Bond theme isn't really fair. That being said, if it's JB theme, then most people are going to give it a 23-0 victory and if it's TBM it's likely to take a 0-23 beating. There are some themes I would choose over JB theme, but I'm guessing I'm in the minority there.

Just wanted to get clarification from game host so I know how to vote. Thanks as always @Soundofthesinners !

What was the clarification? Surely the answer is neither. It has to be the medley they actually used in the movie doesn't it?

Title Track:From Russia With Love(25-75)
A very elegant theme that blends cohesively with the creditsTitle Credits:From Russia With Love(10-90)
The first credits with dancing girls and done with excellent execution to accentuate the credits.Main Villain:Dr. No(80-20)
Dr. No stands out as a definitive villain. From Russia With Love suffers from a lack of a single villainous figure.Main Bond Girl:Dr. No (60-40)
Honey Rider is the most iconic Bond girl, but she does not appear until the second half. As much as I like Tatiana, she does not have as great of an impact despite having a larger role.Henchman:From Russia With Love(0-100)
Red Grant is the most defined henchman with his mission being to dispose of Bond.Overall Plot:From Russia With Love(30-70)
While Dr. No has a sound plot, From Russia With Love cleverly pulls off a more audacious plot worthy of the big screen persona of Bond.Dialogue:Dr. No(70-30)
In the most dramatic moments, the dialogue in Dr. No is sensational.Score:From Russia With Love(5-95)
Barry brings the magic of Bond alive with every track being superior to Dr. No outside of the Bond theme.Settings:Dr. No(80-20)
Bond is most in his element in the Jamaica.Action:From Russia With Love(20-80)
Both in scope and execution, the action in From Russia With Love is grand.Humor:From Russia With Love(30-70)
The humor in From Russia With Love extends beyond the casual one-liners.Cinematography:Dr. No(60-40)
From Russia With Love was shot more ambitiously and it lost some of the charm and forethought that so many scenes have in Dr. No.Benign Bizarre:Dr. No(80-20)
We'll give this one to the tarantula.Suspense:From Russia With Love(40-60)
I love how they cloak Dr. No (and that will show in subsequent rounds), but From Russia With Love carries suspense in spades.Minor Characters:From Russia With Love(25-75)
Introductions of Q and Blofeld (unnamed) with Kerim make From Russia With Love stand out in minor characters.Glamor:From Russia With Love(40-60)
Bond wears the suit wire to wire in some of the most defining settings, most notably the train. In general, Connery is more fluent in the role and the confidence plays out on screen.Bond Performance:Dr. No(55-45)
Connery is sensational in both. I'll pay homage to his original, raw performance that launched Bond.

Title Track: FRWL obviously. Bond theme is great until it becomes random Jamaican screaming

Title Credits: FRWL best in the series
Main Villain: DN, I'm not even sure who he main villain is in FRWL
Main Bond Girl: FRWL
Henchman: FRWL has some of the best in the series
Overall Plot: FRWL the best plot in the series
Dialogue: DN - this one is hard to decide
Score: FRWL
Settings: FRWL- more and better locations
Action: FRWL- obviously
Humour: FRWL
Cinematography: FRWL
Benign Bizarre: FRWL
Suspense: FRWL
Minor Characters: FRWL
Glamour: FRWL
Bond Performance: FRWL

I take umbrage with this statement. I genuinely love DN. Just because I genuinely love FRWL slightly more doesn't decrease my love for DN. And there is no shame in FRWL beating DN. FRWL is my favourite Bond film of all time and DN close behind.

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